Stranded
by MitternachtWuten
Summary: A hero returns to a world he once came to, but not voluntarily. Stuck with seemingly no way out, he's left at the mercy of a different world. Will he ever go back to his home, or is he doomed to stay? He does not know the answer, but for now, at least he has good company to spend time with. Sonaze. Please R&R!
1. 1: Stars

**A/N: Hello all, it's been a while. College has left me a lil busy, so forgive the inactivity. For any readers of "The Living Time Machine", I do apologize, but that project is currently on hold. I don't really have any inspiration to continue it at the moment, so bear with me for a lil while.**

 **In the meantime, for you other readers, enjoy this Sonic fic (in fact, my first Sonic fic on this site) I'm currently drumming up! I do hope you will enjoy it, as I do too, writing about my favorite pairing, Sonaze! I promise to have longer chapters and some great moments between the two here and there, but as for now, you're gonna have to wait a while for the mushy stuff. 83  
**

 **Happy reading, and as always, review please! Thanks.**

 **~MW**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Stars**

"Oi, oi! Lookie! There's big dippah!", a short brown raccoon frantically pointed to a set of stars, tracing the outline of it with her finger. Her movements were so excited, they were practically kicking up the sand surrounding her.

A sigh erupted out of the girl next to her. "Marine, that's the third time you saw it. Is that the _only_ constellation you know of?"

"Nuh uh!", she stuck her tongue out, blowing some raspberries at her in true child fashion.

A smug look came across her face, which normally for the lavender cat was a rarity. Her smirk extending out and her brow raised, she replied. "Oh really? Then name three other than the dippers right now."

It was like she just played right into her hands, Marine's competitive spirit got her eyes zipping across the dark sky of the night. "Uhhhh...ummmm….", now her irises were practically playing a game of ping pong. "Oh! There! Tha's Orion right there!" The cat princess nodded and made a hum in confirmation. That was one. "Er...and uh...that's uh...that's one uh...big...bear...man?"

A snort and snicker arose from the princess. "Really? Big bear man?"

Marine let out a huff in frustration. "Shaddap, Blaze! You got me on the ropes here, a'ight?!"

She then let out a soft chuckle. "Okay, I'll take that as a loss. If you meant Ursula, you're dead wrong. It's not even here right now!"

She whipped around and stuck her tongue out again in response. "Meanie!"

Blaze shook her head in response. Silly girl, Marine was, but she had a charm to her that eventually grew on Blaze. She had to have some friends beyond Sonic and his group at some point, right? And in a way, her childish nature almost reminded her of Cream...well, if Cream was a rambunctious, energetic tomboy. It was kind of strange how before, she thought of her as nothing more than annoying child who couldn't grasp the reality at hand. Course, she's not as naive as she used to be. It's one of the facets of growing up, but she still was a kid nonetheless.

She honestly found it relaxing to sit with her as a friend, vent out her frustrations, talk about random nonsense, and even just stargazing, listening to the sound of waves crash against the shore in the mere presence of a friend. It was comforting! Blaze sometimes wondered why she was so reclusive back then when she was missing out on such an abstract treasure like this. She was just glad she had somebody to teach her, otherwise she would've never gone out of her palace, never would've made such everlasting friendships, or somehow move herself in amidst a rickety, old village on an island she never even heard of before. She was glad, even thankful, for the change that was brought to her. She fully realized her own potential in a way she never expected. It was amazing!

Yet her self reflection was interrupted by a rather rough, repeated slapping on her arm. "Ow, what?!", she scoffed, looking at Marine with slight but not blackhearted disdain.

"Shooting star, shooting star!", she whispered, as if anyone would've heard the two on this lonely beach in the middle of the night. Her hand pointed out to a rather slow streak running through the sky. "You know what that means, right?! Make a wish!", she then suddenly set herself away from the cat, placing herself in a prayer position with eyes closed.

With her peace of mind regained, Blaze watched the shooting star closely, thinking a little too much on what to wish for. She didn't notice Marine keeping one eye open as she watched her best friend closely.

Well, before she was interrupted, she was thinking about her friends and her progress. Her mind wandered around, searching for something to wish for, until she remembered. That person who taught her how to open up. She knew the name, but dare not uttered it for fear of being teased by Marine about it. She didn't wanna ruin this moment to get a wish like this, a moment that only appeared in movies and books. So she closed her eyes and clasped her hands.

" _I wish to see_ _ **him**_ _again…"_

She opened her eyes, Marine doing so at the same time. She turned to the flame girl and made a goofy, toothy grin. "So, whaddya wish for, mate?"

She squinted. "Nothing you need to know."

"Aw come on! Please~!", she elongated the please in the exact way she knows it irks her.

"No.", she crossed her arms and pouted.

"C'mon 'ere, not even a hint?"

"Nope."

"Aw, you're no fun!", she let out an annoyed breath as she turned back to sky while Blaze set her sights on the ocean, smirking after the small teasing session. Marines brow raised, being rather confused.

"Uh...Blaze?"

"I already-"

Marine quickly intervened as she started to grow frantic. "Blaze, is it just me or is that star heading right for us?!"

Again, eyes rolled. "Don't be ridiculous, Marine, stars can't-"

She stopped herself, freezing immediately out of fear. She wasn't kidding, it really was heading towards them! It was a rare sight for meteorites, affectionately named "shooting stars" to land, much less on a land mass where it could be observed. The prospect may have been exciting...if there wasn't the possibility that the two of them, and even the village could be in severe danger.

"Move!", she yelled, instantly standing up and dashing towards Marine. She scooped her up and carried her over her shoulder in a smooth motion as she dashed as far as she could from the possible place of impact. She skidded to a halt after some distance and placed Marine down, rotating to see what the trajectory was of the foreign space object.

It's downward arc was getting steeper, a relief washing through Blaze. The village wouldn't get damaged. Nobody would be injured or even killed. But she still had a nagging feeling.

"Thanks for that-", another interruption as the object then swiftly landed into the sand with a loud, booming thud. Sand was flung high and everywhere, even causing the sea to seemingly pull back in its own nonexistent fear in reaction. As soon as the dust settled, Blaze took notice of the lights turning on in the village. Thankfully, no alarm sounded off, though she knew from the fact that the guardhouse was lit up like a candle that many soldiers would soon be arriving here.

She put her hand on Marine's shoulder while not facing her. "Stay here! I'm going to check it out!"

"Wha?! But I wanna come too!"

"No! We don't know what it is or if it could have something bad!"

"But I can fight too!", the young raccoon whined.

"Yeah, barely! Just do what I say for once, okay?! Stay!", she then jogged off towards the impact site while Marine groaned back in the spot she stood. The pitter patter of her shoes hitting the sand and paced breathe took over her somehow not-deaf-yet ears as she continued to rush on through.

She then slowed to a walk, taking in the sight before her. The sand mounded up into a crater, some of it trickling down into the pit as some of it tried to reform itself. Getting up near the edge, but not too far so she won't fall down. The one thing she was noting was the strange glow coming from it. She thought it strange. Was it really a meteorite like she suspected? Slowly creeping further towards the edge, she focused in on the figure lying down as sand was slowly building up around it, threatening to surely bury it...soon.

And she immediately knew one thing. It wasn't a meteorite. Not one bit.

Her breathing stopped. It became hitched and slowly became faster. Her pupils shrunk. She knew that face anywhere.

It was _him. He_ was here _._ She didn't know why, nor cared how. _He_ was somehow here.


	2. 2: Dead Line

**A/N: Here you go, as promised a longer chapter is here! \OuO/**

 **Thanks for the positive reviews so far. I hope to live up to those words. Keep up the reading and reviewing! Enjoy!  
**

 **~MW**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Dead Line**

Footsteps echoed throughout the mechanical, metallic hallways as two heroes, one a blue hedgehog, the other a two-tailed fox, continued on. Ahead was a large door that seemed to be sealed shut.

"Sonic, I don't think we can get in. Look!", he made notice of it. The blue blur simply grinned in his trademark fashion, Tails knowing he was up to something. However, he wasn't expecting his best friend to suddenly shoot out in a massive burst of speed and curl up into his signature spin-dash, busting the door off its hinges by sheer force.

"I think we can now. C'mon Tails, we got a score to settle!", he chuckled, jogging off into the area. Tails shook his head, still smiling though, and used his twin tails to propel himself forward in order to catch up. However, when the two entered, it seemed someone had already arrived. They must've come in first and been trapped.

Sonic recognized the two figures, and that flying machine, immediately calling him out. "Yo, Eggman. Up to no good, as usual.", he joined in and did a mocking wave to him.

The egg-shaped villain now took on the look that could only be described as panic. "Sonic!", he then rapidly shook his head. "Get in line, this cat will be beaten in no time. Then, with the emeralds, I'll have ultimate power! Enough to squash you like a bug!"

"As if!", Sonic was about to charge over, when yet another familiar Egg Mobile of strange coloring appeared suddenly in front of him, as if blocking him. He frowned and chuffed out in irritation before reverting to his trademark cocky grin.

He clasped his fist into his other hand. "So, you wanna get in my way then, huh? Alright, but we won't let you get away this time!"

The parallel scientist gave a menacing laugh. "Please, I don't have time to chat with you. Let's end this quickly."

Then a sudden rush of flame arrived as the Egg Mobile with strange coloring suddenly jutted itself to the side to dodge. Sonic now got a full frontal of the person.

"You?!", it was that cat he ran into once! What exactly was she doing chasing Eggman? Wasn't he fighting him earlier? How strange. He caught a quick glance of his Mobile floating around in the background.

"How about if I take that time then?", she scrunched her eyes in anger at Eggman Nega, who was now backed up by the other Eggman. "Been a while, Eggman Nega."

"Blaze, my dear. I didn't expect to see you in this world. It seems Eggman has made a mistake.", he drawled in a low tone.

"What?! I made no such mistake! And why are you ratting _me_ out?!", the other crankily squawked at his counterpart, who responded with a mere shrug. Sonic and Tails were watching this in awe, but were more surprised by the appearance of Cream who silently waved. After the last time Cream was nearly put in danger, Sonic was sure this was the _last place_ a little, innocent girl like her should be. Wait, was she with Blaze?!

Speaking of, Blaze seemed to be silently fuming, an uncontrollable rage burning in her eyes. "So...you guided Eggman to our world...and you.", she directed her attention to Eggman. "You stole the Sol Emeralds and jeopardized my world...just so you could have ultimate power?!"

"I couldn't care less about our world.", Eggman Nega coldly spat out.

"Not like it'll matter when our plan goes into effect, thanks to this Emerald!", Eggman added in.

She let out a growl and clenched her fists, flames practically erupting off her body. It was starting to scare Cream. "I'll destroy you both!"

A sharp inhale sounded off the metal halls. "That's pretty harsh.", his face putting on his slight discontent with her current actions. He knew she could be better than this, but he definitely had a concern brewing in the back of his head. If she were to continue, she would be bound to hurt Cream soon, something he wouldn't forgive.

"Shut up! He's my opponent, so go away!"

He crossed his arms, turning his attention to the two. "No can do. I got a score to settle too. And there's a few things I owe 'em both."

Cream continued backing up until she ran around and hid behind Tails. Tails slowly backed up from the two, with Cream behind him as he stood a protective stance in front of her. This wasn't going to end well.

Blaze whipped her around towards him, still visibly angry, with teeth clenched and bared. "I said...I would resolve this on my own! I must protect my world, and I don't need anyone's help!"

"Chill out for a second! You're too tense. We can beat 'em together. We got them right where we want them, why not take the chance?", Sonic was admittedly a little too laidback about it, but he felt it was the best way to go about it without resorting to conflict.

Unfortunately, judging by the crinkling of her face, he was dead wrong.

Though her flames calmed down, evidently she didn't, as she clenched her fist so hard it was trembling. "If you won't leave…", she then flicked her hand towards him, throwing a quick fireball towards his direction. Sonic was glad for his quick reflexes, otherwise his head would've been cooked to well done, the side whip motion just enough to dodge it. It blackened the spot where it landed.

Sonic stared wide-eyed at her, her sneer powerful enough to cut through titanium. He had no choice now. "...then I'll make you!", she barked at him, making him get into a defensive stance.

"This world is so entertaining. I think I'm going to like it here.", Nega muttered with his other-dimensional twin.

"Yes, what a nice development. If they take each other out, it might take care of things for us. Let's get going!"

"Not so fast. I wanna see this unfold.", Nega clasped his hands together on his lap.

"Agh! You fool! We-"

"Come on, it's a once in a lifetime chance. Like you said, they'll probably be taken care of. Don't you want to see Sonic tremble before his ally?", he muttered to him over the radio, making Eggman think in silence.

After a pause, he began. "Fine, but we're getting back so we can make a quick escape when it's over!", he grunted as the Egg Mobiles began to fly back to a distant corner near an exit.

"Hey, are you really trying to fight me?!", the azure mammal attempted in vain to try and use words. She responded by throwing another fireball that he dodged yet again. And again. And again...until she dashed at him to punch with flames, Sonic dodging with a hop and aerial cartwheel, landing at a stand. Sonic sighed. He wished it wouldn't have come to this, he really did, but he was going to have to defend himself _and_ calm her down.

What made the situation worse was he basically had zero knowledge of her abilities. She could easily pull out a trump card and end this. _Time to think on my feet, then!_ , Sonic prepped himself mentally. _I'm gonna have to stun her and hold her down while I subdue her!_

Using his trademark speed, he started off by overwhelming her with a quick dash and a hard kick. It shocked her, being unable to block it, sending her flying to the other end. On her knees, she barely had any time to react to Sonic arriving with a jump, hands first so he could pin her to the wall. She tried her best to get her head right at the moment, because if she didn't fight back in time, this hedgehog was going to...punch her? She honestly didn't know, her mind was too busy rushing in the moment to care.

She activated her flames immediately to ward him off, creating a blast and aura of flames around her. He bit his lip. Too late to get out of this now, he was going to have to brave whatever she had ready for him. He flung his body forward to a vertical stance, blocking by crossing his arms and tucking his legs. With full force, she slammed a fist right in the center, flinging Sonic away.

He ignored the slight burning he was feeling, going to the instinctual choice to go into a spin dash while mid-air, then landing and shredding the floor with sparks flying. He would've done it right, had he not tripped while uncurling.

"Darn!", he said under his breath after landing right on his butt. He got back into a stance as he flung himself into the air with his back and landed on his feet. Dusting himself off, he watched as the cat running towards him, now out of the wall of fire.

He huffed, calculating his next move in his head, paying no more mind than Blaze was to the group of five of his rings disappearing. Even if the Rings protected him from the burn damage he would've received, the punch still hurt a bit. _Mental note: never underestimate her._

She then attempted to try and get him with her own imitation spindash (at least, from Sonic's eyes). He noted it wasn't as fast, and that she was twirling like a ballerina but being consumed by fire. _Weak spot...THERE! Her feet are slightly exposed!_

He dashed out and boosted towards her, then getting down and doing a slide kick to her feet, causing her to trip. "Gotcha!", he called out, grabbing her lower half of one of her legs. He then arched her over his head and slammed her to the ground. Little did he know, she was charging up a fireball the entire time, and he was too late to react. He was shot up into the ceiling before falling face-first down onto the floor in front of her.

"No, Sonic!", Tails called out.

"Blaze, stop!", Cream peeked out from behind Tails. "Mr. Sonic just wants to help!"

Ultimately, she was blinded and deafened by the pure rage she had harbored towards the azure hero. She was getting ready to finish him off with another flurry of flames, that is, before something interrupted her, the something nearly horrifying Sonic.

Tails rushed in, his twin tails circling behind him to give him that boost of speed that allowed him to catch up to Sonic back then, slamming into Blaze like a quarterback. This caused her flame attack to be bursted upwards just barely past their heads, spacing everyone in the battle from each other due to the force of the explosion.

Tails and Sonic tumbled next to each other while Blaze skidded across the floor backwards, falling onto her back. As soon as he was stable enough, Tails rushed over to Sonic's side. "Sonic! Are you ok?!", he held out a hand to him.

The spiny snarker gladly took it as he propped himself up with the help of his best friend-no, more like his brother-in-bond. "Thanks, lil buddy. But that was dangerous y'know, you could've gotten hurt!", he expressed his concern.

"Not as bad as you would've been!", Tails bopped playfully on his arm.

"Right. I'll take it from here, okay?", he ruffled his "brother's" head and stepped forward, ready for another round. Cream meanwhile was too frozen with shock, hands over mouth at the fact that Tails risked a lot of things just to save Sonic.

Tails took the opportunity in this calm before the storm to talk to Sonic, whispering to him. "I hate to break it Sonic, but you're going to have to get serious if you want to stop her.", was all he said before backing up behind him.

His reply was a simple grunt, nod, and then that famous grin of his.

Blaze however, was fuming. All this friendship crap she saw before her. She had this ideal constantly shoved down her throat. Cream did it, and that Amy girl too! Oh, _she_ especially made her sick with just how infatuated with Sonic she was! Sonic...the hedgehog before her. She ran into him twice. The first time, he was nothing. The second time, she deemed him a nuisance, especially with dumb lines like, _"That's not how it works around here."_ This to her was especially true now, leading her to believe her conviction was right.

And now that she had a small amount of time to think about it...this was all Sonic's fault! He never stopped Eggman! And he was the reason nobody would ever shut up about him or that stupid friendship everyone babbled about! _He_ was the reason she had to listen to this nonsense! Her anger fueled her through and through, the flames broiling once more and the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was going to end _him_ first before dealing with those two nimwit evil scientists!

Seeing that smirk just made her pissed. She had enough of his stupid face! Letting out a roar, she consumed herself in flames before charging towards him. He himself curled into a ball and spindashed towards her, the two connecting, constantly clashing as the two repeatedly homed in on each other, Sonic spindashing, Blaze twirling in flames. The two unfurled and constantly exchanged fists and feet, each one dodging with a small failure here and there resulting in some blows. It was suddenly ended by Sonic back-flipping away, then sprinting off, using his speed to circle around Blaze and create a tornado, soon curling into a ball and flying around the middle of it.

She scoffed as she let out her fire, the flames funneling around the tornado's visible winds. This caused Sonic to spiral up through the top and attempt to attack directly downward, still in his ball form. While the tornado of pyre slowly dissipated around her, she created a flame pillar, noting his not completely straight angle and off-put position.

He responded by stopping his ball form and using the homing attack to dash onto the wall, propelled by the last legs of his tornado effectively. As he ran along it, Blaze kept creating pillars one by one behind him. She then threw a curve-ball by putting one ahead of him.

"Knew it!", he called out before suddenly pushing off, flying towards her hands first once again. This time, he was actually successful, grabbing onto her arms while she was flustered, slamming a knee into her torso. She dropped on her back, the thud resonating throughout the hall, Sonic keeping her pinned, hands on hands and knees on legs.

"I said I would defeat him!", she growled.

Squirming heavily but at least now handled for the moment, the hedgehog took this opportunity to talk some sense into her. "Stop it already! This isn't going to change anything!"

Hot tears of anger welled up, her resistance temporarily halting as she stared down the face above her. She clenched her fists. "What do you know, huh?!"

He said nothing, donning of a look of sympathy as the cat grimaced and gritted her teeth. The tears that threatened to come out dried up, saving herself the embarrassment. "I am the guardian of the Sol Emeralds...this fate forces me to live with this curse!"

"Curse?", Sonic mumbled, brow muddled in confusion.

"Do you think I _wanted_ this? These flames?! These powers...I've always been alone because of them! But they give me the power to keep my duty...so it's why I must do it alone! No one ever needed me...and I never needed them!", she barked at him, causing Sonic to reel back at bit from her ferocity. "It's my responsibility, my duty, _my purpose_!

Sonic bit his inner lip, stunned by her being so gungho about not making friends due to her unfortunate circumstance. Even when he was once alone a long time ago, he never acted like _this_. Sure, he knew his speed intimidated people but...a curse? Yet at the same time, he had nothing but concern for her. Did she really feel like this? _Seems like she had a rough past..._

"I admire the fortitude but...carrying the entire world on your shoulders?", Sonic gently asked her, genuinely softening up in an attempt to get her to talk.

This was a big mistake once again on two fronts. One: even if his word choice wasn't necessarily harmful, it was enough to push her over the edge. Two: he left himself wide open by letting his guard down.

With a loud grunt, she took the opportunity to deck Sonic in the face and kick him off of her with enough force to send him soaring. Landing on one hand and two feet, he slid to a grinding halt, looking up at her stance of endless pride and wrath.

"Enough! This ends now!", she yelled, charging up her flames as she readied something.

Nothing was uttered from him, but a lowering of the brows meant he was finally taking this seriously like Tails told him too. Which speaking of, he was wide-eyed. He knew that face all too well. Sonic was going to go all-out this time, no holding back. The two charged enough massive energies of their own, creating a boost aura so large it threatened to encompass the room.

He then boosted towards her, and she did the same with the two meeting head-to-head (literally) in the middle of the room, causing massive friction around them. The two struggled, one trying to push past the other in the clash. For a short while, it seemed the two were at a stalemate.

That is, until Sonic grinned in full, baring teeth and all. Blaze put on a puzzled expression until she realized all too late what was going to happen. Before she knew it, Sonic was letting out a cry as his pushing got harder and harder and his feet got faster and faster.

It was making a figure 8 shape at this point, and the feline was struggling to keep the pressure going. That is until one final push from Sonic ended up it all. Literally.

With one final step, he pushed his head forward so hard it sent her spiralling off the ground and splatting onto the wall behind her, the force powerful enough to make a Blaze-shaped dent in it. Sonic put his other foot down and exhaled sharply, dusting off his hands with a clapping sound. The fox and rabbit stared in awe as his sheer raw speed was just enough to give him the win over the battle.

Blaze's friction finally gave out, making her fall over face-forward onto the floor with a loud thump, ultimately weakened and dazed by it. However, despite how things seemed, he wasn't finished.

"C'mon, let's get out of here!", Eggman shouted a little too late.

"Not so fast!", Sonic faced him, directing his focus and a pointed finger at them.

VVVVVVVVVVV

Her vision was blurred, and all she could hear were muffled voices and sounds. Even then, they were drowned out by the constant pace of her own breathing. _That hedgehog sure packed a punch. How did he get so strong so quickly?_

Soon her eyes cleared up and her ears no longer felt like they were clogged. She could note the sounds of footsteps coming towards her, head facing the source, she found the blue hedgehog before her, extending a hand whilst the other had a Sol Emerald. She reluctantly took it, allowing the hedgehog to help her stand up.

"Hey, not bad. Can you stand up?", he smiled at her, this time in a friendly way that just emanated pure warmth. "You sure gave me trouble. The last person who ever matched up to me like that was Shadow."

She had no idea who or what he was talking about, confusion muddling her expression. She thinks it was some kind of compliment. Yet at the same time, it also felt like it was an insult. How was she matched up to him at the end? She shook the thought out, noticing his hand extended with the purple Sol Emerald Eggman had in his grasp earlier. "Wha…", she vocalized, mouth gaping.

"This belongs to you, right? Egghead had it on him."

She immediately shot up with no support, ignoring the pain she was feeling, then snatched it from him, feeling the warmth of the Emerald in her grasp. Why in the world would he get the last Sol Emerald for her, especially after she was trying to hurt him beyond saving? She didn't understand, not one bit. But the logical side in her sharp mind dictated that this must be why everyone loved him so much, something she had hated to think about earlier. Soon after that, she began to feel the regret pour in, Cream's outburst coming to pass. He really was just trying to help, wasn't he? And how did she act? In pure anger, fighting against someone who would've been on her side.

Her expression fell as more and more she began to ponder it. "I...I'm sorry. It's just...I must save the Sol Emeralds. I must-"

She was caught off guard by the fact that he placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her cheeks to go red from the sudden contact. "A bit overzealous, aren't we?", he smirked. She gulped in reply. After he took his hand off her, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Don't bite off more than you can chew. You can't possibly do everything on your own. We all need help from others at some point, even guardians. A friend of mine, Knuckles, he had a job like yours and loneliness like it too. But he opened up sooner or later and learned to trust me and Tails. Heck, even I need help too. And I think I'm really strong!"

 _Think you are?...No, you definitely are._ She thinked, saying nothing and connecting with the example, all while continually staring into his gaze as he gave advice. "Bein' honest here, my strength really comes from my friends. I'm just one part of it. Oh, and uh, one more thing. A couple of things, actually."

She tilted her head a little in curiosity. "First, I'm sorry for not understanding what you went through. Second...you should just be yourself. I'm sure everyone would really like you for you. That's all I got to say."

She froze once again, cheeks glowing pink. Where in the world did that come from?! She prayed internally he didn't notice. Unlucky for her, he did. Afterwards, she was mulling over his words in her head. Completely tuned out from the rest of the world. In that moment, she now understood why everyone was so "gaga" for Sonic.

He really was a nice guy. The pure worry in his face as he tried to stop her? As his yellow fox friend nearly saved him _from_ _her_? The fact that he got back her last Sol Emerald for her, even after all her rampaging? How he treated her so kindly as well? Sonic was a _true_ hero, the kind that didn't just saved the day, but cared for and wanted to see the best in people. It was odd but, it seemed for her that his words, his advice, rang truer than ever coming from him, even making her slightly _comfortable among whom is essentially a stranger_. It must've been the air surrounding him, how he presented himself and acted, right? Whatever the case, she found herself repeating his last words over and over. 'I'm sure everyone would really like you for you.' Being... _herself_...that was such a foreign concept to her, and one that she wouldn't know how to deal with, even if people like Sonic and Cream would support her. But, she did know at least one thing right now.

"Perhaps...", she spoke up after the short intermission. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe I can...rely on friends, if I let myself…and... _be_ myself as well.", she found it hard to admit, spacing out her words and speaking slowly so she can process them.

Sonic winked and gave a thumbs up. "Great!", he then moved his hands to his hips. "We got off on the wrong foot. So how about this? I'm Sonic. Sonic The Hedgehog. It's nice to meet you.", he extended a hand out to her.

"Um...I...I'm Blaze. It's nice to meet you too.", she shyly responded, timidly taking his hand and shaking it, but yet even in her awkwardness, Sonic was still grinning. He wasn't at all in any way, shape, or form, remotely annoyed by her behavior. It was nice in her opinion. Not being met with...well, you know, scorn. She found herself smiling a little bit too.

The moment, however touching, was shattered by the sudden and rather harsh rumbling sounding off, Sonic's eyes darting all over as he noticed the world gaining a haze, the Earth losing its color and the stars their shine.

"Whoa, what's with the depressing look?!", Sonic tried his best to steady himself as the tremors affected his balance. Blaze snapped out of it and donned a serious expression on her face.

"It's the Sol Emeralds, they're making my world enter yours by leading it here! It's going to cause a catastrophe!"

"Shoot, really?! That Egghead blew it this time!"

"We don't have time left, Cream, let's go!", she started to dash off but was met with deafening silence, halting her in her tracks.

Sonic immediately took notice and cursed himself for not figuring out sooner. "Hey, where's Cream?!"

The door he entered from earlier opening with Tails in tow, frantically flying over to the duo. "Eggman kidnapped Cream! Sonic, I tried to save her but I couldn't catch up! Eggman had some tricks up his sleeve and I couldn't react. I'm so sorry!", the poor boy was so upset he was ready to cry.

"Tails, it's okay, you tried your best. Now where is he taking her?", Sonic reassured him.

"Look!", Tails pulled out a holographic device which displayed a letter. It read: "I have Cream. If you want her back, Blaze must come to Point W alone!"

"Shoot! Darn Eggman!", he let out a huff and growled.

"Blaze, it might be a trap!", Tails leaned towards her.

"Yea! Don't worry, I'll grab everyone I can and-"

"No.", Blaze shook her head, causing everyone to blink. "I appreciate the help, and I know this is against your advice Sonic, but...she's my friend. My closest one, ever. I must save her...by myself, as he demands."

Sonic's eyes constantly flickered around in different positions as he scanned her, before grinning and giving another thumbs up. "Okay! I understand. We'll leave it to you then, Blaze!", he snatched the holo-letter displaying the map information from Tails and tossed it to her.

"Thank you…", was all she said after catching it with a smile, then bursting off in the direction Tails came from.

Tails looked unsure of Sonic's decision, tucking his lips in a judgemental manner. "Sonic, are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "Yea. She's strong enough to handle it. Besides, being able to believe in and trust someone...that's a part of friendship, right?", he winked cheekily.

Tails blinked, but with his smarts he caught onto his intentions pretty quickly, smiling big and wide. "Yea, you're right! I will too, then!"

"Great, now c'mon, we got a different Egghead to scramble!"

Blaze didn't know, as she ran through the corridors of the Dead Line, but that moment just now would change her forever.


	3. 3: How?

**Chapter 3: How?**

"Well, is he ok?!", Blaze anxiously scooted around in her chair from just outside the hospital room he was admitted into. This behavior was considered really odd coming from her. Usually she's calm, cool, collected; a true epitome of a royal figure, if you will. Not now though, if anything, she's acting like a child who lost their teddy bear and can't find it.

"Calm down, your Highness.", a female, koala nurse reassured her, patting both of her shoulders roughly. "He's somehow completely fine, but still very much unconscious."

"Do you know why?", she pestered, standing up and clasping her hands together near her chest. She honestly tried her best to put on the persona she normally wore while out in public, but it crumbled pretty quick in this situation. She couldn't care less about her image when one of her closest friends was worrying her sick.

"We don't. The doctor couldn't exactly pinpoint it in his initial diagnosis. It doesn't seem like he suffered any damage of any sort, not even a hint brain trauma. We all found it kind of strange, to be completely honest with you, ma'am.", she explained to the lavender cat. Though she felt herself relax at the mention that no damage was suffered, it still boggled her mind.

How in the world did Sonic get sent here like this? Surely, it couldn't be that her wish was granted? More important, how did he survive, much less come out _unscathed_? There were no Chaos Emeralds in sight, yet he was glowing with that bright aura, the same after using them. Like when he became Super in those two times she saw. No matter how she tried to piece it all together, she was no less confounded than when she first saw him in that sand pit.

"At least it wasn't a shelling like the Guard suspected. Hell would've been raised for sure around here.", the nurse confessed to her, sighing out of a sort of relief, Blaze finally sitting down while she stared into the floor deeply.

The nurse took this opportunity while she was calm and still to analyze her. The first thing she was brought to was her face, noticing the slight bags in her eyes. You wouldn't catch it at first, seeing as how she used makeup to cover it up really well, but upon closer inspection, you definitely would. Being a nurse, her job was to check up on people, even if they weren't the patient.

"Hun, you alright?"

The cat blinked a few times before lazily directing herself towards her, obviously fighting off the urge to sleep, she made a doppy smile. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

"Sure don't look like it.", her lips tucked together. Luckily, no further inquiry was going to be needed since right after that question, the medical staff opened the door and poured out. There were about four others before the doctor himself left it. He spun around and was alerted to her presence.

"Ah, your highness.", the middle aged male lynx doctor spoke to her. "I apologize for the wait, but I have some good news. The young man will be awake soon. I predict some time in the next hour he will."

"Really?!", that statement sure knocked out whatever drowsiness was plaguing her, full attention brought to him.

He nodded. "Yes, but given how long he was out, I suspect he may need to rest for an hour or two before leaving. He'll probably wake up a little disoriented, dizzy, or lightheaded, but otherwise completely fine. A good meal and some water will get his energy back, for sure."

Finally, the stress and anxiety expelled completely, leaving Blaze's mind at peace. He was going to be okay. It definitely was some much-needed good news. Perhaps after a quick visit, she could go back and sneak a nap in before any duties were brought up.

"Be sure to pay and check him out when the time comes.", the doctor reminded her before leaving for other patients, her only reply being a nod, her serious demeanor taking over for a bit before evaporating when no one was around. She would've been offended at the implication that she wouldn't pay because of her royal status, more so considering this was _Sonic_. Blaze however, did not care one bit. She just wanted to see him again.

The cat of royalty took the opportunity to enter his room, slinking in. Though sleeping was definitely tempting, she could off until at least visually inspecting him once again before she left. Having not seen him for a while ever since his admission here, she had so much trouble sleeping throughout the night without knowing if Sonic was alive or not. No matter how hard she tried to fall asleep, her own worry kept her up, only then slumbering with the help of some medication. She honestly was so loopy from lack of sleep, she couldn't tell how long she slept, but she knows it was well below what was deemed appropriate, somewhere around three to four hours.

And knowing how her kingdom operates, she couldn't just stay overnight at the infirmary like most commoners. She couldn't just be in his room overnight to help put her at ease. _No_ , she just _had_ to be cooped up in the local Royal Guard FOB, her "home away from home" established after moving her residence here! She knew they were just doing their job, following protocol and ensuring her safety, but honestly, she felt insulted. It was like being coddled all the time. She can darn well take care of herself just fine! After all, who else but _her_ was able to take on Eggman Nega all those times? Well, the few but massive times he was active.

This to her was one of the most stressful moments in this current period. But that all dispelled when she saw Sonic. Even if he was just unconscious in his bed, his presence _always_ made her comfortable and relaxed. In hear head, she knew Sonic could see past her royal status, her fiery attitude (and powers!), her constant serious demeanor, even her total social ineptitude or strange fears of heights and ghosts. Ever since truly meeting her in the Dead Line, even from their minimal interactions before, he could tell she put on a front, and knew what kind of person she was. And because of that, he could just see her for...her. Not the person she tried to be. It made her feel more special than anything, the way Sonic and his friends treated her so normally, especially Sonic. Not constantly bowing or kissing her hand or some other nonsense! Or even pushing her away with her admittedly bad mask.

Blaze knew from that failed act she was so desperately hanging onto earlier was betraying the powerful advice he had given. Even so, she knew Sonic would understand her position, or if nothing else, at least forgive and redirect her. He always had that capacity, to understand when explained. Even if the concepts were entirely foreign to him, beyond his understanding, he at least took the time to listen. And to her, that's all she could ever ask for.

Seating herself down next to the bed, she placed her hands on her lap and just stared at Sonic's sleeping form, resisting the urge to abashedly carry on a one-sided conversation like he was in a coma. Yet it wasn't just thoughtless staring, she kept constantly recapping the chain of events in her head as her sleep-deprived brain attempted to make sense of it all.

She was stargazing with Marine. They spot a "shooting star". She wishes to see Sonic. Said shooting star turns out to be heading straight at them. And then the shooting star turns out to be Sonic, miraculously unharmed, but unconscious. It was too good to be true, and for the third time that day, she pinched herself to check if she was dreaming. _Nope, still in reality._ , she thought to herself, confirming it.

Perhaps she would get answers from him personally when he wakes up. Until then though, she would have to rack her brain for a really good guess...after she got some much needed sleep.

She was just about to head out when a door opening sounded off, signaling the entrance of another. In came in a male Koala with a blue fez, a royal military coat with gold tapering off the shoulders and along the pins that held the clothing closed, and a rapier sheathed at his waist.

It was Gardon, her personal guard. Given her powers though, he was more like an informer than an actual guard, always keeping her updated on the news and other royalty's current drama. She still appreciated him nonetheless...on other days. Right now however, she could feel her stomach wench. Either she was going to be escorted back and be embarrassed in public, or (and she hoped she was wrong) that Gardon had work to give her.

He stood at a salute and spoke in that cheesy, militaristic tone he always did, speaking in a soft but urgent tone. "Your Highness, I apologize for my intrusion of your time with Sir Sonic, but I come with urgent news! One of our agents has picked up important intel! It demands your immediate attention!"

Welp. This was just great. Looks like she'll have to get some coffee later to keep her up.

"How many times must I tell you, stop calling me that!", she huffed, displeased at more than just a name she was fine with literally a minute ago. Her brain managed to catch up with that fact and she sighed. "Actually, never mind. You won't stop anyways. At ease, Gardon. I'll be there in a bit.", she smiled warmly at him after catching a final peek at Sonic.

"Um...r-right, sorry. Thank you, Princess! I will meet you at the submarine dock!", he made a salute once again and went off towards the location, exiting the door.

She let out a long breath. This was going to be a long day, she could already tell. Her cheeks donned pink as she leaned towards Sonic. "Don't keep me waiting too long, ok?", she whispered, gracefully getting off her seat and exiting the room, but not before one final glance at him.

* * *

"So, you said something about important intel, Colonel?", Blaze asked the koala decked out in sunglasses, sipping more coffee from the cup.

Colonel was once a part of the youth crew on the island, the Coconut Crew. While he claimed to be a "super spy", when he actually decided to do it for real by applying to the Royal Guard for the position, she had no idea he actually _was_ , nor that he had the gall to try for real. Seriously, the guy was more cunning in the profession than he seemed at first! He turned out to the best the Kingdom has had in _years_ , and she was eternally grateful for it.

"That I did. Awright now, check it.", his thick Australian accent drawled as he pulled out the map of the world filled with markings. Blaze honed in on it, focus sharpened by the caffeine.

"See those red markin's 'ere? Those ar' the locations I wen' to wit ma submarine. Took a lookie thru da scope, right."

She hummed and nodded in response. Gardon, who was also in the room, intensely stared at the markings.

"Now all those black markin's? Pirates. All dat aye could spot."

"Sweet Jeweled Scepter...that many?!", Gardon gawked at the black ink blobs denoting ships of different sizes. "I thought pirate activity decreased ever since we took out Whisker and those two miscreants who made him!"

"Thas wot you THINK, mate. It wos for lil while, I won't lie. But they're back. Bigger than eva'.", he tapped the map a couple of times with his index. "And they've been supah active too. Saw 'em do a couple o' raids on 'em hidden islands. Stranger mo', no one dared to go fer tha big 'uns with Royal Guard outposts at all. 'S all smalla' ones. Marked 'em in green when I saw 'em."

"Any idea why, Colonel? At least an ulterior motive?", Blaze quirked her head to the side to look at him before returning to scan over the green ink noting the pirate raids. Some of the locations of them were really strange, like one that reached the far end of the map.

"Nothin' I could find or think of, nope. But I got me some suspicions.", he leaned over the table in the secret room of the dock, high above in the lighthouse.

"Tell us!", Gardon demanded, suddenly slamming his hands on the large table. It made Colonel and even Blaze flinch. He was met with a fierce glare from Blaze which made him slowly peel back.

"Well,...get this, I think it's the efforts of that wanka, Johnny."

"Him?! Can't be. We destroyed him a year ago in that chase, remember?", the princess brought up. "We even still have his scraps up for display back at the castle. How in the world could he come back?"

"Theory here. I think that Johnny was a fake. Real Johnny is out there somewhere. We only can't find him cos he's got no signature waterbike.", Colonel continued on. "It's the perfect chance to conceal himself among other pirates and build up an empire in the background. Unite them and stuff, right? Other theory is Nega rebuilt him, but honestly, I think he's 'oled himself up too much to give a hoot. Not to mention th' bloke isn't too hellbent on reviving his mistakes, as we all know. "S not like that other Eggman."

"I wouldn't bet on theories like those, Colonel. Last thing I need is for you to start wearing tin-foil hats.", the purple-shaded cat responded, clearly not in favor of them."However...if you manage to find evidence to back it up, I will gladly discuss it with you.", she stated solemnly, leaning back up and placing a hand on her hip. Colonel simply nodded and was about to finish up his report when...

 **BRRRGGGHHH!**

A sudden boom, landing with a thump, sounded off. Then a pause.

"What in blazes wos dat?", Colonel asked. "Did ano'her ting fall off from th' sky?"

"Shh!", she silenced them, waiting patiently, ears perked up. Once more it seemed the sleep was knocked out of her.

Then another one, this time it felt closer. And then immediately another one. This time causing a slight tremor.

"Earthquake?", Gardon surmised.

"No...too far apart. Ends too quickly.", Blaze noted, staring intently at the window next to her.

"Volcanic rockslide, maybe?", Colonel adjusted his sunglasses.

Her fur stood on end, everyone in the room practically jumping when they witnessed a shell whizz by, making an audible whoosh before crashing into the nearby ground, shaking up the area.

Suddenly, one of the Royal Guard burst through the door, making Blaze nearly activate her flames. The young Koala panted. "Radio called in from recon, we're under fire!"

"I saw!", she hissed through her teeth. Of all things to happen! She _definitely_ needed a nap after this was all said and done. "You, tell Radio Command this! Rally the troops and prepare for counter attack! I want every guard on high alert, and the Ocean Tornado deployed immediately. Tell all soldiers in the village outpost to get out and on the defensive, and to evacuate all civilians to safety. Tighten security inside the base too! We _cannot_ have them get the Scepter or Emeralds _._ Nor the hospital, we got someone important in there, his name is Sonic The Hedgehog! The hospital, the citizens, and those items are of top priority!", Blaze commanded the young trooper, firing off one order after another. The poor Koala seemed confused while Colonel listened intently. "Also, shoot a flare and call for naval backup from nearby island outposts! I don't care if we need it or not, get it done! Direct order from me!"

The troop saluted. "Yes, ma'am! Right away, ma'am!", he then shot off towards the downstairs to get to the communication.

Blaze snapped her focus to the spy. Obviously the coffee seemed to be doing its job, clearing her head of sleep and giving her complete mental clarity. "Colonel, you're good at memorization, get down there and make sure the kid gets it right."

"Righto, Cap'n!", he went after him, finishing his quick salute.

"Gardon, get back to the Outpost and help protect the Scepter and Emeralds. I'm giving you command over the area."

"B-But your Highness! What about you? I-...Oh no, say it ain't so!", he asked, dreadful that he already knows the answer.

She turned to look out the window as shells flew. "Yes, it is so. I'm going to stop those pirates."

"Absolutely not! I forbid it!", Gardon stomped to her. "I know about last night, and in your condition you're in zero shape to-"

Ultimately, she ignored him, kicking the window of the room open and climbing out onto the balcony.

* * *

The Ocean Tornado waned out from the doors of the docking area, its gun turrets immediately firing at the pirate ships currently attempting to bomb the island and its inhabitants. Cannon balls shot out from its side, sinking one of the smaller ships that was about to head to shore.

The captain yelled out to his crewmates over the sound of the battle. "I want turrets focusing on the smaller guys. Stop the docking at all costs! Cannons, get the bigger ones shelling the island. I want Flamethrowers on any schmuck who dares to get close! We gotta do our best to hold out until backup comes!"

One after the other, small ship was blown to pieces within the ocean, and some of the bigger ships started to focus their fire on the boat Tails left behind. Thankfully, its upgrades lent its firepower able to do massive damage, and the boat itself would've been hard to sink. Why, back up from the Royal Guard navy might not even be required!

Yet that didn't stop the huge, red flare being shot up in the distance from the highest point in Windmill Village.

It was strange seeing the ships from Whisker's fleet returning, but they were few and far between, the rest being different ships of mostly wood and poor quality metal. What they lacked in proper build quality though, they made up for in numbers.

Blaze took note of this from the outside balcony of the lighthouse dock, zoning out from Gardon's shouting. _Shoot! Just how many are there?! I gotta go, quick!_ , shimmying back inside the room past Gardon and taking a spare radio earpiece, she snugly fitted it on.

"Mistress Blaze!"

"Shut up and just do what I tell you for just this once, okay?!"

Blaze went out once more past the stunned koala and jumped down from the balcony, landing perfectly on the beach sand, dashing off around it to meet the pirates up front, opposite from the waterbike dock.

 _Ok, think Blaze. I could hop on the waterbike and use my flames to assist the Ocean Tornado until help arrives. Could also board the ships myself and disrupt them, leaving them open for attack._

Her train of thought was halted by a crackle in her ear, the radio signalling off. "This is Recon 2! Pirates are coming from the back, over!"

Another. "Tornado Captain here, we're kinda busy out front! We might try and whip around out back if backup's fast enough. Can't confirm though, we think there's more comin' front. How many ships are there? Over and out."

"Only one drop ship, but it's really big! Enough for a platoon, sir. Seems they focused most of their force out front though, I think they're trying a rear flank, Recon 2, over!"

 _Shoot. Of course there's a wild card in the scheme, there always is._ , she internally growled. She could only pray that the caffeine was enough to keep her going.

She pushed a button on her earpiece. "This is Princess Blaze. I'll take care of them. Ground troops should just focus on the Scepter, Emeralds, and civilians.", she immediately rerouted herself to the other direction, heading back towards the submarine bay.

"Ma'am, are you sure? We could provide long-range fire support or even send some troops there!", the voice of Recon 2 was unsure.

"No, too dangerous. I might get caught by friendly fire, and we need as many over by the Scepter as possible. Keep watch of that horizon though. If anything suspicious or another ship appears, deploy the hovercraft immediately!", she replied, quickening her pace as she got closer and closer to the pirates. "Oh, and be sure Marine doesn't try and do anything stupid."

"The hovercraft?! B-but….ugh. Roger, I'll communicate to Outpost command, Recon 2, over and out!"

The purple, pink, and typical colored fires alit, and she soon consumed herself in an aura of them as she boosted towards the area. Noticing the large ship Recon 2 called out getting ready to land, she quickened her pace further to close the distance, immediately getting in front of the ship, her back to a jungle thicket which remained as a border between the shore and the village. This would be a nice way to unwind and really vent her frustrations out, wouldn't it?

The Whisker era ship hissed as two doors on each side suddenly plopped down into the sand. From the sides, the pirates, each being different animals of different size and stature, filed out and in towards the thicket before stopping, having spotted Blaze at the ready. Lastly, from the left, a large, musclebound eagle came out, letting out a hearty laugh at the sight.

"Well, well, well, boys. Look what we got here, Princess Blaze honors us with her presence!", he made a showy gesture with his arms by extending them out.

"Go ahead and flap that big beak of yours. You won't pass me.", she squinted her eyes in focus at the group, scanning it for numbers and the overall makeup of the group. Yep, definitely a full sized, 16 person platoon. She immediately picked out the weaker ones, stronger ones, and the ones who would be stupid enough to rush in first.

"Really? That a challenge?"

"No, it's a fact."

"That so? Test it then, boys!"

At first, nothing. Her reputation preceded her, the lot obviously not wanting to mess around with that fire. The eagle groaned loudly. "If not a single one of you doesn't attack her, I'll cook ya for dinner!", he yelled.

Now motivated by fear, one group of six, ironically the most of the ones Blaze deemed stupid and weak, charged at her. They were in a horseshoe formation, causing her to start off by throwing two powerful charged fireballs hard at her sides, already incapacitating two. "Fourteen left.", she muttered.

The remaining four changed to an "X" shaped formation. Two of which seemed to try and get close in different, opposite directions, they obviously being the quickest of the bunch. All she had to do in response was twirl in place, flames consuming her as she jumped causing two of the fastest to run, but not to react, to bonk heads. An immediate downward dash sent them flying, already knocking them out. _Lightweight idiots. Typical. That's down to twelve._

Two more rushed over and filled their spot, others coming in as well as they circled around her constantly, taunting her with a cacophony of voices sounding off around her. She silently cursed her tired brain as the noise was enough to confuse her, making her not even notice the rest of them joining in. There was now also an outer circle by the time her mind caught up and focused, now seeing the rest of the "merry band" in it, save for the eagle who watched from his spot. She was basically trapped in and had to go on the defensive now.

Which unfortunately for them, meant she didn't have to exert herself as much as they would have, being on the offensive. Plus, it was a good thing she had those defensive abilities in spades.

One from the inner circle charged in and was promptly judo flipped and thrown past the outer circle, his head connecting with a crack onto a palm tree. Another barged in and swiped a sword at her multiple times while someone attempted to get her from the back with a club. Dodging with quick movements one after one, she side stepped right as the clubber swung. The sword was knocked out of his hands, the clubber currently trying to recover for another swing before Blaze jump kicked him in the head, then focusing a flurry of punches and a final fireball for the disarmed sword mook, before roundhouse kicking the clubber again as he stumbled back and then forth. She could tell the sword one was knocked out, but the clubber was still not out for the count.

With those two KO'd, it seemed the pirates with lesser endurance were effectively cycled out, now it was only going to be the median to hard ones from here on out.

 _Fine. I like a challenge anyway. It'll make me sleep like a baby when I get home._

Now this time, they got the actually smart idea to start trying to overwhelm her, barrage after barrage of mooks going at her. As one would charge and get promptly dealt with, two more would try and sucker-punch her from behind or from the side. Now it was getting harder to dodge and counter attack. It didn't help either that a): she nearly got slashed by a sabre, the attack tearing a slit in one of her coat's sleeves, and b): she could slowly start to feel the caffeine wear off, now only being fueled by pure adrenaline which was soon to run out. On top of this, she then she got clubbed in the legs, throwing her on her back, the grime of awful sleep making the pain worse. She had to roll away and create a flaming shield around her to get the group to back off and stop attacking, just so she could rest and try to formulate a new plan.

 _OK, as soon as I let down this shield, I'll use my flames and rush right through them with boost and my twirling. It should wear them down enough for some punches to knock them out. OK...here goes!_

But she made a bad mistake the moment she let that shield down. Little did she know, the big guy she wasn't paying attention, the one she thought was staying behind to watch, was waiting right behind her. With a loud thump, he punched her back towards a side of the circular group. Despite constant attempts (some successful) to avoid, she was definitely getting pummeled in a rotation, eventually getting picked up and thrown again by the large bird backed towards the tree.

 **POMPF!**

Panting and biting her inner lip at the pain, she knew she couldn't keep up with this much longer, worse more was that she could feel the urge to sleep getting stronger as the fatigue of last night crashed on her, caffeine wearing off at the worst possible time. The cat cursed at herself for not getting at least one Ring before coming out here. She knew their power would have softened the blows a little.

But it wasn't like she was entirely weak, even with the weight of her insomnia pushing down on her shoulders. These days, she can now endure a lot more than she would've been able to back then during the crisis where she ended up in Sonic's world. And she most certainly was stronger than Sonic in that same time frame! But she grossly underestimated these pirates.

She came in expecting silly, rusted robots who have no purpose, or at the very least a pack of flesh and blood fools who were totally clueless. Obviously, not the case anymore. They got smarter this time, more cunning and tactful; they were no longer the total bumbling idiots from before. It wasn't a cake walk anymore, that much she expected, but this was ridiculous! She swore she bopped these cretins enough that one of them should be struggling to stand!

She counted the people before her that were still standing just to check, and then cursed again. _Ten...no, nine, including the big guy. Well, I got at least more than half of them._ , she smirked as she wiped the sand off her muzzle, feeling a strange boom of confidence within her.

The eagle made a hearty chuckle. "Hey, don't be so sure yet, kitty!"

Just then, about three more popped out of the boat. This time, she was expressing just how exasperated she was. No words in the world could express the darkly priceless look on her face right now as she watched the final three exit the boat, two males, and one female. And these three were by no means "easy-looking" goons. No, just from sheer aura alone she determined what she was facing would be her worst nightmare in this moment. Despite being the same size as the others, and smaller than the eagle, these three were definitely bruisers. Especially that female shark with the scar on her eye, as she gnarled her teeth in both a menacing and teasing way.

 _Guess even pirates are equal opportunity, huh? What's the number now, twelve?_

She felt the need to cuss a storm aloud, but held it back for the sake of her pride. At the back of her mind, doubt rose just as quickly as the confidence did from earlier. If she wasn't so darn tired and sleep-deprived, she could've easily taken them on! The moment she thought it was the same she expelled it. She wasn't going to show weakness, not now, not ever. She was strong, and they would know! Even with her current handicap, she could take them on no problem!

This was enough to fire her up as flames erupted from her again, as she dashed off towards the group, using her full power (or at least, the fullest she could muster) and no longer holding back. The pirates grinned as if they knew something, as if they knew they would win, which only fueled Blaze's determination more than ever.

Easily within the first minute of battle, between juggling the newcomers and the big guy, she was able to take out at least two more henchman, they being unfortunate subjects to Blaze's burning punches, and at the mercy of the ocean they were flung into. However, for the second half of the two eternally long minutes, she wasn't making any progress but instead tiring herself out. It didn't help that she had to constantly ping-pong her attention between the toughest bunch of henchman and the looming figure of the big eagle. While his large figure made him easy to dodge, he could easily sneak up on her should her attention fail for even a split second.

And it just kept going on, and on, and on. Two became three. Three became four. Four was then five. Each time a minute passed, Blaze felt the exhaustion pile on, building up more and more. All the while she was questioning their unnatural durability.

Thankfully, something was able to lift her spirits, as she put one of the males who arrived from the final set of three out cold. Making mental note of this, she counted down only nine left, now back to where she was earlier in terms of numbers. This didn't make her any less frustrated though.

 _What in Sol...this is ridiculous! I've been hitting them at full power, but they shrug it off like it was a harmless flick!_ , she complained internally, noticing how that male she knocked out earlier was flinching after every hit, but this group wasn't. Seriously, she knew some faired better than others in battle, but she was giving it her all, her current _full power._ Doing the math, this would be at least seventy-five percent of her full potential strength in nominal conditions! There's _no possible way_ they would've lasted this long _naturally_ , let alone past the one to one and a half minute mark in a continuous fight like this! There was definitely something foul at play here, and it didn't help that Eggman Nega was slow on the rebound, leaving her few opponents to really train her! She sometimes blamed her lack of strength compared to her Chaos dimension peers on it, given how active Eggman was.

She tried fighting, but no more could she do. Eventually she gave up, unable to find herself to continue any longer with this constant strain, the full-force of her weariness making her light-headed. Dashing back out to a short, but long enough, distance from them and panting, she wiped the now beading sweat from her forehead, her legs growing weaker and unable to keep her standing much longer. She honestly lost track of the time at this point since all her mind was focused on how in the name of Sol these guys weren't even halfway beaten, much less a quarter. But whatever time it was, that was definitely the longest she ever held out in a weakened state.

Thinking she could have a sliver of a chance, despite knowing her body was crying out for her to rest longer, she immediately charged back up and headed back into the fight. She was determined to push beyond her limits. With a finishing, momentum-powered kick, right off the bat she knocked another of the "big three", the other male smacking against the metal of the beached boat. She muttered a thankful prayer to whatever Gods were watching. Now she only had to focus on the heavier of the hitters with the seemingly endless stamina. _Down to eight._ _This will end now!_

Or so she thought. Clearly the move was more rash, more stupid, than she surmised, as the female shark from earlier bashed her right in the chest, knocking her down to the floor. Her ribs ached from it. Then, she was grabbed by the throat and slammed into the ground a couple more times before being passed to another who decked her in the face. Now being picked up, the eagle harshly threw her to the ground once more, skidding across the sand to the position she had when she arrived. Now, she _really_ regretted having zero Rings on her. No Rings, no defense. And she didn't have the Sol Emeralds on her, so she couldn't call to their power. With no saving grace, she predicted this might be the end of her, a victim of her own poor decision making. If only her sluggish, sleep-deprived mind didn't cloud her normally sound logic.

The eagle boisterously cackled. "You fought well, Kitty."

Blaze did her best to get back up, trying to stand but ultimately only getting to a crouch on one knee. Shaking furiously, it seemed she was about to plop down face-first into the sand and doze off at the mercy of the pirates.

"But we were better. Hate to disprove your little 'fact', but we're gonna pass.", he grinned evilly.

She could already feel it, the results of the failure of her attempt. Those guards wouldn't stand a chance, not even an ounce if _she_ couldn't handle them. She should've allowed for that fire support, but she had to force them to stay behind and protect the Emeralds due to her own pride. Most of all though, she feels she failed Sonic. Sonic would probably meet his end in that hospital bed, all thanks to her. She couldn't imagine the pure anger everyone back in his dimension would direct towards her. Tails, Knuckles, Amy...she failed them. She failed them all.

If only she knew how to keep her head cool and think better in these quick situations.

"Ocean Tornado here, all clear, but we've taken some damage. After some repairs, we'll be right there, so just hold on a little longer! Backup was a major help. One's going to circle around to the back, but it'll be a while. Ship got one of their paddles damaged.", her earpiece crackled, this time actually hearing what was being said now that she lost her focus, reminding her of just how bad the situation was.

She wanted to tell a million different apologies all at once, but didn't have the strength to muster up a speech of that magnitude. Wounds completely visible and making her head pound, she knew she was going to be out cold in a matter of seconds. She muttered the only thing she could.

"Sonic…"

Suddenly, she felt and heard the force of a tiny capsule popping, and her fatigue and pain wore off almost instantly. And then, a landing from above, a force so quick it left behind afterimages and a blue trail. A sharp hiss sounded off as a blue ball jumped up and pinballed itself between the group before being smacked away. The ball soon became a figure, one that stood tall and proud in front of her, hand extended in a protective manner. Vision clearing as she felt the energy of the Rings course through her, she could only see his back, but she knew that back like her own hand's. Once again, she was flabbergasted at the sight of him, but for an entirely different reason this time.

" _ **Why don't you pick on someone your own size, bird brain?"**_


	4. 4: Departing

**A/N: YIKES! Almost two months since I last updated this?! Jeez louise, where has the time gone?**

 **Apologies to any excited readers who felt I left them hanging. Thankfully, spring break is here so hopefully I can work on this more and crank out some more chapters! This one's a short one but I feel it should be enough to reinvigorate interest in it, no?**

 **Also, I would like to quickly say thank you to those who gave your kind reviews and criticism! I'll do my best. I hope you will continue reading and reviewing! Thank you and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Departing**

After all that had happened, Blaze welcomed the deafening silence that tore through her. It sounded weird, but this dimensional tear had a calming aura. To her, it was as if this was her signal to finally relax. Everything she had fought to stop, did. Things would finally go back to normal, and no more would the threat of a multi-universal collapse heave on her shoulders.

It's not like she could've accomplished this alone though. Turning around she spotted him, in his glory of blazing yellow, spines flowing upward with the energy coursing through him. His sharp red eyes eased, knowing for sure the two Eggmen were defeated. His eyes wandered around the strange sight before settling back on returning that gaze of hers.

Between the two of them, no words needed to be said. They both knew the deed was done, silently giving each other their own congratulations, thanks, and whatever else was appropriate for the situation. Yet the feline wished she could say more, especially since this moment spoke to her louder than before of how Sonic's advice from before was true. Why it took her till now to realize that, and why she was still nervous about it, she didn't know. She couldn't discern whether it was due to the exhaustion coming over her in the moment of relief, or if a tiny lingering sense of stubborness was stuck to her.

Not like she had much time to think about it anyways, since Sonic broke the ice. "So...this is it, huh?"

Her head lowered and eyes closed, letting out a sigh. "Yes...it is.", she confirmed, reality catching up to the bravado of the moment.

"Everything will be back to normal. I'll go back to my world."

"Yes. And I will have to return as well. The Chaos and Sol emeralds...they cannot coexist in the same world. It would cause another crisis."

She couldn't see it, but she sure could sense it. There was a slight hurt in Sonic's eyes at the prospect of possibly never seeing his newfound friend again. It was in his distant tone, the way he spoke. Direct and short-winded, something the normally coy, chatty hedgehog wouldn't be unless the situation was really dire or if he was _really_ emotionally distraught.

"I guess it's time to say...goodbye...then.", he swallowed and clicked his tongue. "Y'know, Cream will really miss you.", a sad-but-comforting smile strewn across his face.

"...I don't have a choice."

"Nothing from you then? Not even a 'happy trails'?"

"It's better this way. I came as a stranger into your world. It's only fitting I leave that way."

He shook his head, still keeping that look on his face. She surmised she was right in her guess, still a little stubborn after all this time. Normally, he might've chewed her out a bit for going against his advice, but right now, he didn't have the heart to ruin the mood. Plus, what she said afterwards made him rescind his urge.

"Sonic…", she opened her eyes and stared right into him, donning a grateful smile. "Thanks for your help. Bye."

Still having that smile, the sudden end to their conversation she attempted to pull didn't stop him from having some final words of his own. "Wait.", he held out a palm, her head tilting in curiosity.

He brought his right foot up, propping it on his knee. Suddenly with force, he tore off the belt buckle on his shoe, also ripping off a little of his trademark white stripe, revealing it to be a strand of cloth. Now the stripe was jagged, and evidently, his shoe was a little loose as well judging from how it seemed to dangle and just barely hang on to his sock-covered foot.

He then tossed it at Blaze, her figure snapping up and catching it in complete surprise. She looked down at the item in her hands, confused as to why he would just ruin his shoe like that.

It didn't take long for her to receive answer. "That's a gift from me. Sorry, I didn't have anything else on me.", he sheepishly admitted. She was honestly astonished at it _AND_ him.

"Well, I'll see you again, Blaze.", he too said his own goodbyes.

Still fazed from the weird "gift" she received, she turned herself back up towards Sonic. "Yes...again…", she clenched the buckle in her grasp tenderly and stuffed it in her coat pocket before floating over to him, the hedgehog doing the same.

The two now closer, they did nothing but stare at each other for a few seconds until Blaze got the idea to hold out her hand.

"Here's my gift. I'm not willing to destroy my clothing like you are."

Sonic chuckled, grinning with teeth bared and gladly took the chance, connecting in a handshake with a smack.

Of course, just before he could give his own thanks, the forces of nature had other plans. It wasn't long before the dimensional rift started to correct itself, sucking the two towards the opposite directions.

However, neither let go nor wanted to. This moment had to last as long as possible, with Sonic even getting so desperate as to take her hand into both of his. This action resulted in a faded pinkness lighting up her white cheeks.

Even with their consistently rising struggle, the pulling forces couldn't be ignored as soon they became strong enough to tear them from each other, shock plastered on each other's face with Blaze attempting in vain to reach out for Sonic in her other hand.

In a flash of white light, it was all over, and Blaze found herself flying through the skies of the Sol Dimension, looking out over the waters as the greenish fade of dawn lit up the sky, the Sun peeking out over the horizon.

While heading towards her kingdom, she wasn't entirely without thought. Quite the contrary actually, her head was bustling with nothing _but_ thought, especially towards her hedgehog friend. Subconsciously, she put her hand in her coat pocket and began to lightly stroke the shoe buckle and its accompanying cloth strap between her fingers and thumb.

She let out a light sigh, speaking to herself at volume that was just enough for her only to hear while it was washed up in the cacophony of the rushing wind. It was as if she was audibly confirming her current mess of inklings within her mind. "I understand now...my fire powers...my duty as a Princess to guard the Sol Emeralds...I shut people out and kept to myself. By trying to make it my sole responsibility, I almost put my world in danger. But...then…"

His past words before the final battle in that tear and after their brawl back in _his_ world echoed through her mind. _Just be yourself._

 _Think about it, both Eggmen knew how the both of the Emeralds worked. That's why the world didn't completely fall apart when they were together. Everything should be fine since I got the seven Chaos Emeralds. If there's anything I learned after all this time, it's that as long as the person holding the Emeralds can control them,_

and _knows how to use them, nothing can go wrong. Blaze,_ you _have that power. Get it?_

Her hand clamped around the item she got from Sonic as she put on a wide grin, pink staining her cheeks. She didn't know how, but this blue boy won her over. "Sonic the Hedgehog…"

Even just saying his name added on to her already developing feelings. How she would cope with this, she would think through later. But for now, there was only one thing she could say.

With a small, joyful giggle, diving off towards her home: "I'll see you again."


	5. 5: Arriving

**A/N: Howdy! It's definitely been a while, hasn't it?**

 **This fanfic has been on the back burner for a while since I really didn't have a lot of ideas on how to continue it, as well as me having constant rewrites and spelling and grammar checks. The latter is because my previous chapters here have a lot of little tiny mistakes buried in the paragraphs that I sort of look at and think, "How the hell did I miss that?". Well luckily, _something_ new regard this has finally come out, and just in time for the Sonic movie too! I'm going to see it later today and I can't wait honestly. It looks great.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy the movie too and I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I'll be releasing more soon, I promise (if, of course, my perfectionism doesn't get in the way). :)**

 **~MW**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Arriving**

" _ **Why don't you pick on someone your own size, bird brain?"**_ , that voice was like a gift from the heavens right now. More importantly, she assumes a Ring capsule was thrown at her by _him_. She could thank Sol ten times over and it still wouldn't be enough to express her gratitude. She looked over to see him crush his own capsule in his hands.

"Oh yea, rat? Like you are?", the eagle bantered back.

The hedgehog was in front of the eagle in a heartbeat, startling the pirate and the group at his quickness. He leaned forward and put his hand on his hip tauntingly, counting off with the fingers on his free hand. "First of all, hedgehog. Second, trust me, I eat dolts like you for breakfast.", he cocked a mile-wide, crap-eating grin. "You're nothing compared to the things I've fought, pal!"

"Really now?! Try me on, then!", the Eagle slammed both his fists down, but Sonic zipped back a single ruler space, making him miss entirely as his fists smacked into the warm and harsh sand. "Ow!", he groaned, flapping his hands to get the sand and pain off.

Meanwhile, Sonic whistled a tune, acting like he was inspecting his nails behind his white gloves. "Like I said, not even a challenge. Tell you what, since you're not, I'll make up one .", he pointed at the eagle. "I bet I can beat up all your friends in under a minute- no, wait, 30 seconds."

"What?!", the Eagle angrily barked at him. "That's impossible!"

" _You_ think it is. Me? Just another Monday morning."

Blaze was dumbfounded. She knew Sonic was strong, but he clearly didn't know who he was up against. The last thing he needed was to anger the group with his boasting antics. More importantly though, she _wasn't_ going to be responsible for _losing him_.

She got up, trodding closer to him as best she could and whispered. "Sonic, you're seriously out of your mind. Let's escape while we can!"

All he did was turn to her in his peripheral and wink, then back around to face the Eagle. That face just screamed "I got this". And for all she knew, he probably does.

"Y'know what? Fine! I'd like to see you try, pipsqueak! You won't even make it past two of my people!", he held up two fingers to exaggerate his bluff.

The hedgehog pointed at him. "I doubt that!", he then turned to look at Blaze through his peripherals.

"Hey, Blaze, keep count for me. I'll start. One."

He then zipped off without hesitation towards one of them, throwing a flurry of punches so fast they were invisible to the naked eye. He finished with a kick, sending him skidding through the sand in a constant cartwheel before eating a face full of it when he landed. Connecting immediately, he jumped and homing attacked another in quick succession before ending with spindash, which sent the pirate flying into a nearby tree, knocking him out.

Instantaneously, he followed up with a boost into two more, one of which was the most-powerful as determined by Blaze. The two went sky high before Sonic did a 180 turn, jumped, and air-boosted towards them, spiking one like a volleyball into the sand and roundhouse-kicking another, the latter plopping right down into the ocean.

While in midair, he curled into a ball and charged some energy as strange orbs formed out of nowhere and absorbed into his body. The last thing anyone saw of him was his body consumed by a light blue aura before a boom sounded off with his disappearance, being once again invisible to the naked eye.

Two more were taken care of, being smacked over the horizon with multiple attacks so quick no one could tell how many hits it took.

Sonic reappeared, light blue aura gone but he was _still_ going at the same speed, curled in a ball as he spindashed harshly into the final one, his body blasting through and creating a hole in the metallic ship.

Finishing with some cartwheels and backflip, he stopped right before Blaze and dusted off his hands after making a mock Olympic finishing pose. "Don't worry, I was counting just in case you weren't. Fifteen seconds."

Blaze and the eagle's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

 _Just how strong did Sonic get since the last time I saw him?!_ , she mesmerized inwardly. She couldn't take out a single one in that final group for three minutes, but Sonic finished them _all_ off in less than half!

There was no time to gawk however, as the eagle was shaken out of his stupor, intense anger coming across his features. Blaze immediately got up at the ready, feeling fully recovered thanks to the Rings he gave her. She stood close to Sonic's side as he did stretches.

"I don't know who or what you are, punk! But you ain't finished yet! I'll make sure you pay for what you did to my comrades!", he heaved at him. Sonic rolled his eyes as he hopped lightly back and forth in place. "And I'll warn ya...I won't be as easy as them."

"Alright, bring it on!", he grinned, making a few mock punches. He turned to Blaze, still smirking. "How about it? You still up to fight? Could team up like old times."

Blaze rolled her shoulders, popping noises sounding out. "Yea. Sounds fun! Besides, I believe I owe him after what he did to me earlier.", she lately returned his wink as she herself stood at the ready in her own position.

Another toothy grin from the hedgehog. "Glad to hear it. Let's go!"

The two ran side by side right at the eagle before splitting off to take him on at different sides. Both of them started boosting, whizzing right by him, but still close enough to harm him from its damaging combination of auras of Chaos and flame.

The resulting speed made him spin around like a top and slightly shredded his clothing. Though before he could regain his footing, his face was met with a strong punch on both sides from the two attacking heroes, stopping his spinning right then and there.

Stumbling backwards from the dizzying strike, Sonic curled into a ball and zipped around to his back, uncurling and utilizing the force of the momentum to deliver a straight kick to his back, sending him towards Blaze. She readied her fire powers, and as soon as he was near enough, unleashed a combo of flaming punches and kicks, topping it all off with her signature tornado spin move, passing him back over to Sonic.

"Finish him, Sonic!"

"You got it!"

Sonic went over to where he predicted the eagle was going to land and got on his back. Waiting for the eagle to land on top of him, he used his immense leg strength to tumble backwards and push him off to direct him towards the beached boat.

The large bird's head smacked right into the front rudder of the more metallic boat, stunning him for the moment. Sonic then began revving up a gnarly spindash, finishing it with a solid hit that managed to not only create _another_ hole, but also send the boat back into the waters a bit away from the shore.

And things just kept getting better.

The Ocean Tornado finally came around to their side of the island, spotting the boat and sinking it on the spot with its multiple and powerful cannon shots. With a large explosion, the ship sunk and many of the crewmen who were now knocked unconscious and/or blackened by the explosion, floated up to the surface of the water, sloshing around because of the current.

"Thank you Sir Sonic and Princess Blaze! We'll take care of the rest of these scoundrels!", the captain called out to them via its loudspeaker.

The two let out a sigh of relief, Sonic doing his own silly little victory dance while Blaze watched him tenderly. She didn't know how in the world he managed to recover so fast, but boy was she glad he did. Had Sonic not come in time, she would've been done for. But the next sight certainly swiped whatever happy feelings she had right out from under her.

Sonic's balance was starting to be lost, stumbling from side to side. Perking up with worry, she immediately darted to his side, slinging an arm up on her shoulder as she supported him. Being this close, she noticed his deep breathing as he was in progress of settling himself down. Not only that, but his grip on her shoulder and his stance felt really... _weak._

Now that she had time to really think, he just looked really light-headed. Suddenly, an idea popped in her head like a light bulb, remembering what the doctor said. The realization made her squint at the hedgehog.

"Sonic, don't tell me, did you _just now_ become conscious?", she asked, a mix of worry and disappointment staining her face as her brows furrowed at him.

"No!", he replied like a kid caught stealing from the cookie jar. She could only stare needles into him. "...Okay, I just got up uh...give or take five minutes ago."

"Sonic, why?! You should know better than to do that! Why didn't you wait to recover a little first?!", the cat chided the hedgehog with a grating tone.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself.", he chuckled as she began slowly trodging her way back to the village medical center in tow. "When you lie awake in some big old noisy room, and someone comes in making a huge fuss, it's kinda hard to not pay attention."

She was amazed that despite his clear light-headedness, he was making long and clear sentences. But believe this, his voice didn't hide that fact _at all._ "A Royal Guard?"

"Yea. I overheard about your little trouble with those guys."

"Couldn't resist _not_ coming, could you?", she deadpanned.

"You bet.", there was that crap-eating grin of his, and that twinkle in his eye.

"While I am eternally grateful for it, you still pushed yourself too hard! You look like you're about ready to collapse!"

He waved it off with a motion. "Nah, I'm fine. Not like you're much better anyways. You got no sleep!"

"Are you kidding?! This is extremely different, Sonic! _You fell out of the sky._ And you're closer to passing out than you think, idiot.", she retorted at him, but not out of anger. More out of care for her closest comrade. "Honestly, all those acrobatics, I'm surprised you didn't faint at all."

"Yea, it was a little scary, but you gotta admit. It was pretty cool though, right?", this time his recovery started picking up, noted by his stronger tone of voice. Must've been those rings he absorbed in advance.

 _Clever hedgehog..._

She just shook her head and smiled. Still the same Sonic. "Sure it was. Come, let's get you back into bed."

* * *

"So you're telling me he did all of that and the only thing keeping him going was _rings and pure adrenaline?_ ", the same doctor from earlier questioned the Princess who sat next to the now bed-resting hedgehog in his room from before. Once again, he was asleep.

"Yes. If you do not believe me, ask him yourself when he's awake.", she motioned with her head over next to the sleeping blue blur.

"No, I believe you. If he survived an atmospheric fall and came out unharmed, he definitely could have handled all of that."

"Just because he _can_ doesn't mean he _should_.", she huffed out. "Stupid hedgehog had me worried sick.", she grumbled, pouting.

"And I agree. If it's any consolation, with how quickly he heals I suppose he'll be discharged before sundown. Maybe in a couple minutes too. Recent examination shows he just needs to recover by sleeping and eating.", he got up, heading towards the door. "I'll be around if you need me, your Highness."

She nodded, turning back to the hedgehog as the door closed shut. Knowing no one was around, she leaned in towards the bed and stared at his face closer, lightly ghosting the back of her hand over the side of his cheek and head. "You're amazing...you know that?", she whispered, backing off from his slumbering form.

* * *

Eyes from afar, watching by binocular slammed down their fist on the waterbike. "Augh! How did _he_ get here?!"

He placed the device back into a compartment in the back and let out a large groan. "Boss _really_ won't like this.", he slowly turned around and blasted off away from Windmill Isle. "Hope I don't become scrap metal after this…"

* * *

 _Hello…?_

 _Are you there…? Ah, you are!_

 _Good….good…_

 _Listen...I'm so sorry this happened. I don't know how, but here's what I know._

 _The seven Chaos, they...reacted all of a sudden._

 _Before I could control it with the Unifier...everything stopped._

 _I'm using their power to communicate with you. But I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised._

 _They do have the power to transcend worlds, huh?_

 _...Who am I? Surely, you must know. We met before, a long time ago, don't you remember?_

 _I showed you many things._

…

 _Mmm. You do. I'm glad. It's been a while._

…

 _How are they doing?_

…

 _To be honest, not so good. They're worried sick about you. It seems they lost you at a time where you were dearly needed._

 _They're trying their best to multitask with saving you_ and _repairing the damages._

 _Whatever happened, I'm sure it was for a reason. And we'll figure out what that is soon enough._

 _In the meantime...hm. It seems you are having positive feelings about it despite this._

 _That's just like you._

…

 _It's good to see you again, Sonic...now, wake up...wake up...wake...up..._

 _...Oi...Wake up!...C'mon...wakey-wakey, eggs and bake-y!_

* * *

"Hey ya old bugga! I know you're in there!"

"Marine, quit it!", the cat hissed at her behavior. "He's not gonna wake up and you're making a ruckus!"

"No way, I saw h's nose do a lil twitchy! I kno' he can hear me!"

"Oh for the love of Sol-"

"Oi! Ya big doolie! Wake up!", Marine loudly called, shaking the sleep right out of the hedgehog violently. He slowly began to wake up, though still heavily groggy. The realization of his jolted movements and sight of Marine startled him, pushing himself forward and making their heads clash with a "bonk!".

They both rubbed the same spots and let out their light groans of pain while a purple cat dug her face into her palm out of shame. Huffing out air with sheer disappointment, her hands travelled down to her hips as she stood up, a telltale sign she was about to chide.

And that she did. "Honestly, Marine! Have a little respect for the patients here and **keep your voice down**.", she lowly bellowed, snatching the girl by the ear. Even if she was her dear friend, she really knew how to be a total pain in her rear. " _Try not to hurt him anymore, either._ "

"Owie! Awright, awright, I'll be quiet!", she whined with low voice, annoyance and pain showing in her grimace. "An' I won't hurt ole blue either!"

Sonic let out a snort and snicker at the scene before him. _Good to know some things don't change._

Blaze released the deathly pinch grip on her ear, demeanor lightening up at seeing Sonic's boundful energy fully restored in his laughter. Her face softened as she trodded up to his right bedside, Marine taking the other while mumbling various complaints and rubbing the ear she was grabbed by.

"Had a good nap?", the cat grinned, Sonic rubbing out the remaining fatigue from his eyes.

"I think so. Interesting wake up call though.", his eyes darted to the raccoon, resulting in a sheepish smile and blush while Blaze tucked her lips together. "How long was I out?"

"Quite a while actually. You tuckered yourself out more than we thought you did. But, now that you're well and up, we can get out of here.", Blaze noted in a light urge to Sonic, head bobbing towards the window view of the setting sun. Sonic sniffled in response and did a quick one second raising twich of his brows in surprise.

"Ya, an' maybe ole' kitty here can stop worryin' up her knickers 'bout you!", the accented raccoon girl lightfully bopped Sonic's arm in a playful manner.

Sonic took the joke well, but evidently Blaze didn't, judging from her cheeks that lit up redder than an apple, fiery glare directed at the other girl. It didn't help that as soon as the two started giggling about it, the red turned to a deeper, darker shade, fueled by even more embarrassment. She covered her face to hide both the bashfulness and her burning irritation at her loud-mouthed friend.

"Really?", Sonic cocked a smug grin as he leaned over to peek at the female feline burying her flushed face behind gloved hands.

"Oh yea, she was-umph!", her speech stopped as Blaze's hand suddenly smacked on to it, the gaze intending that she was to shut up and not say a single word. Releasing her hand, Marine nervously grinned and decided to step away while Blaze curtly walked in closer, now recomposed with only a faint blush.

"Anyways...we're glad you're back, Sonic. Are you ready to go?", she held out her hand towards the hedgehog on the hospital bed.

"You know it.", he took it and easily propped himself up, giving the hint that he didn't really need it but he appreciated and took the help nonetheless. The group of three headed out the door and into the hallways of the medical facility. "So, how about those goons we pounded?"

"We interrogated them for all they're worth, and now they're currently being hauled off on a max security ship convoy to the Royal Prison Island. Trust me, they won't have a chance of escaping.", she reassured him.

"You sure about that?", the name certainly brought back old memories, raising some questions and doubts about it. "I had a place that was a prison on an island in my world too. And I busted out of there _pretty easily_."

"No way...the ole' cheeky hog was behin' bars?!", Marine hopped up and down on her feet in excitement of the story, but Blaze was none too thrilled, brows furrowing.

"Are you hiding something from me, Sonic?", she spied him with piqued brows.

"Ah jeez, lighten up. I was framed! You know me, I'm not a felon!", Sonic reassured with waving hands as they got close to the front desk, Blaze making the group stop so she could finish Sonic's discharge paperwork and pay any bills. "It's a long story. Besides, you're missing my point! Security can have holes in it and if those guys have friends, I'm willing to bet they'll bust them out!"

"Alright. Fair point. But Sonic, even if they did escape and somehow push through our ultra-tight security, the island where the prison is built on is many, _many_ miles away from the next island. They'd probably starve or dehydrate themselves before they'll find an island to live on.", she mused as she signed on the designated places of the paper, then finishing the last one.

Sonic simply nodded his head as they got closer and closer to the front desk. He continued to listen to Blaze's explanation. "Plus, the nearest islands have Royal Guard outposts anyways. Plus, they are fitted with a database of all known prisoners. Even if they reach there, my military will detain them on the spot."

Sonic blinked and nearly gawked. Since when did they get their hands on such technology?! Last time he was here _none_ of that existed and Tails had to build it all. Luckily, he didn't have to scoop for an answer.

"I know what you're thinking, and let me explain. A lot of my kingdom's engineers learned much from the leftover craft Tails built back when you came last time, as well as Eggman Nega's leftover scraps when he attacked. You should see all the tech they've made out of their discoveries!", she beamed at him, pride twinkling in her eyes.

"Really?", he cocked his head, mouth wide and grinning. "Tails spurred you guys on?"

She nodded. "Yes. We advanced greatly because of him. I must thank Tails at some point."

"That's so cool. When I get back, I'll tell him. Man, he's gonna be so excited to hear that!"

She chuckled while Sonic put his hands behind his head. Blaze turned to the counter clerk who smiled. "You're all ready to go. We're glad you're still okay after you nearly fainted out there!", she chirped at the trio.

"C'mon, nothing can't keep me down!.", he cockily rubbed his nose, making the staff chuckle.

"You're a funny fellow. Right, you all have a good night now. Oh, you too, your Highness. And thank you, your Highness!", she waved them off as they began to head out through the double doors.

"Of course. You too.", she mumbled, awkwardly waving back. She began to wonder why she zoned out like that, and why she was facing Sonic when it happened. The thought was shrugged off as soon as it was in her head.

"Take care, chums!", Marine winked as she was the last to push through the doors.

As it closed behind her, Sonic stretched and took in a deep breath next to Blaze. Marine cobbled up to Sonic's other side as they watched over the sunset from the great view the hospital provided. Times like this made the two girls realize the hill really was the best place to put the facility.

Sonic then exhaled audibly out through his mouth and whistled. "That's something I missed about this place.", he suddenly spoke up.

The two cocked their heads to the side at him in curiosity. "Miss what?", Blaze asked.

"That fresh island air. It's so different from my world, y'know?"

"Yes. I know how you feel.", Blaze smiled, remembering the few times she went over to Sonic's dimension for things like birthdays. Certainly, beaches like Emerald Coast couldn't compare to the air and atmosphere Windmill Island's own provided.

"I wish I knew. Say, why don'tcha ev'r take me along wit' you to Sonic's world?", Marine pouted at the feline.

The hedgehog took on a mischievous smile. "Because you don't ask."

Sonic snickered while Marine's cheeks puffed out in irritation. "Real funny, mate. _Real_ funny..."

His laughter was cut off by a loud growling stomach. Sheepishly looking up to them, he grinned. "You guys know a good place to eat?"


End file.
